Nothing Can Stifle My Love of GREASE

DISCLAIMER:  I feel like this sort of reads like some sort of wishy-washy, half-assed, self-help book, and I’m sorry for that.  But I hope you read (and enjoy) it anyway.

Why do we call them “guilty” pleasures, rather than just admitting them as things we enjoy?  Sometimes, the answer is as simple as embarrassment and not wanting people to judge us.  Anything can be cool enough to like, if you like it in an ironic way.  (I don’t actually like still playing PS one games; it’s just nostalgic and retro.  Yeah… that’s it.)  Other times, guilty pleasures truly do make us feel guilty because they’re actually dangerous to us; we feel guilt in the harm we’re causing.  Don’t even get me started on how much I hate that I smoke Primetimes whenever I’m drunk.  And the amount of 7-Eleven taquitos I eat is terrifying, but my god do they ever taste deliciously greasy. 

Then there’s the kind of guilty pleasure that encompasses 98% of my guilty pleasures: my to-do list is a mile long and I have a thousand ways I’d like to improve myself, yet I’m playing Pokémon and eating my third bowl in a row of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  My guilty pleasures were born from laziness and procrastination.  The day my brother texted me to say Digimon was on Netflix was the day productivity came to a halt.

I like to think I’m getting better though.  Productivity makes me feel good and I recognize that.  Nothing makes a person feel accomplished quite like being able to say, “I did this”.  Now, if I were an overly ambitious person (which may happen eventually, but let’s be honest that time is not now) I could create projects for myself and take on the world one task at a time.  I could force myself to be productive.  Alas, I am not ambitious.  The thing about being a new homeowner though, is I don’t have to force myself.  There’s a list right there in front of me, with items just waiting to be checked off.  I want to paint my kitchen cupboards, I think I might want to wallpaper my stairs, I definitely want my office to be organized.  I have so much stuff to DO and all I need to get started is the willpower to stop to looking at pictures of cats.

So hear ye, hear ye.  I’m issuing a challenge to anyone who’s still reading this and hasn’t realized how pathetic I am and moved on to the next post:

-       If your guilty pleasure is a guilty pleasure because it’s embarrassing, OWN IT.  You’re old enough to have realized that (apologies for the cliché) it doesn’t matter what other people think of you.  Be you and be proud.  Like what you like.

-       If your guilty pleasure is a guilty pleasure because it’s harmful, STOP IT.  There’s nothing in this world worth causing damage to yourself, or others.  If it’s the amount that’s harmful (see: the amount of taquitos I eat in any given week), enjoy it in moderation.

-       If your guilty pleasure is a guilty pleasure because it enables your career as a couch potato, PRIORITIZE IT.  Know what needs done in your life and what things are most important to you, and make a point to devote your energy to those things first and foremost.  Find a balance.

I guess the point I’m trying to get across here is that you don’t need to have “guilty” pleasures.  There’s no reason for you to feel guilty about something that makes you happy.  There’s nothing wrong with being frivolous.  Get up off your butt and make things happen, but don’t do it at the expense of a life devoid of happiness.  Live and let live.

Jazmin